


Reunion

by Chelidona (Hobbity)



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mention Of Homophobia, Unrelated Fíli and Kíli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 16:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9615398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbity/pseuds/Chelidona
Summary: Prompt fill for prompt 126 of the winterFRE: I’m trying to avoid you at our high school 10 year reunion.Kíli is trying to avoid Fíli, but fortunately, Fíli is having none of that





	

“Kíli! Wait up!”

He didn’t. Kíli tried to continue walking as quickly as he could without breaking into a run. He rubbed his hands together to fight off the cold. Couldn’t Fíli take a hint?

They had been at a 10 year High School reunion. Not just their class, no. The entire year. That was unusual but a few people had gotten together to organise this big thing.

Kíli had been bullied into going by his ex-girlfriend turned best friend and roommate Tauriel, who happened to be one of those people.

“It’s going to be tons of fun,” she said. “All those people we didn’t hear from in years. You’ll see!”

Of course there were reasons for that. And one reason, Kíli had never even confessed to her. The most humiliating moment in his high school career.

The day he confessed his love to Fíli. That had been six month before Tauriel transferred into his class and he had been smitten by her.

But before that, he had a crush on Fíli lasting for five years. Five years. And when he finally found the courage to tell Fíli, one day, in the school corridor, Fíli had turned him down.

With so much pity shining in his kind blue eyes.

Said Kíli felt more like a younger brother. Because Kíli was one year younger than the rest of the class, having moved in from another area in which children started school a year earlier.

Kíli usually bounced back from failures and humiliation with ease. But this one, this one he had never lived down. He had admired Fíli so much, and had done his best to be considered Fíli’s equal.

He never hung out with Fíli again, avoiding the other boy completely. And of course, then Tauriel had come.

To Fíli it must have looked as if Kíli was over him, but he never truly was. Tauriel and him had never really been more than friends with benefits. They were just too different to work as a couple.

Luckily (in hindsight) Tauriel realised that in time and split up with Kíli shortly before graduation. He had been hurt at the time, but they remained in touch and eventually had become great friends.

He had, however, never heard from Fíli again. Until the man walked into room where they held the reunion. Kíli had been busy shovelling potato salad on his plate at the buffet and nearly dropped it. Fíli strutted in, just as confidently as he used to, his smirk still in place, his blue eyes sparkling. He had filled out a bit - he used to be skinny, but now his whole body had broadened slightly. He was still smaller than Kíli of course and Kíli was quite proud of his own strong arms and torso, but Fíli was just so much more compact. His eyes had met Kíli’s and Kíli had seen a smile forming, but he had quickly turned around to Tauriel and gone on ignoring Fíli for the rest of the evening. He could see, out of the corner of his eyes, that Fíli approached the groups he was talking to several times, but he had always managed to walk away before he could engage in a conversation involving Fíli.

That should really have been a hint. Fíli had never been dense. Why the man was following him now was a mystery Kíli didn’t intend to solve.

It was dark; Kíli had stayed at the reunion nearly until midnight and it was a long walk to his car. Tauriel, who had helped organizing the event, was still in there, cleaning up but she had declined any help from him. They lived the next town over by now, and she would sleep at the place of her best friend from school.

He could have done with her help right now.

“Please!” Fíli shouted.

Never in their history in school together had Fíli ever said please. Not that Kíli could remember anyway. He stopped and let Fíli catch up.

Also, he wasn’t 17 anymore.

“What is so important?” Kíli asked once Fíli was next to him.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not,” Kíli claimed, cringing even while that came out. That was stupid and Fíli lifted one blond brow.

“I don’t know what dictionary you’re using, but in my book, not looking at someone all evening and then walking away from them is the definition of avoiding.”

“All right.” Kíli conceded. “I didn’t want to talk to you. Why are you here?”

“To apologize, I guess? I mean, prior to this evening I didn’t think I did anything to validate your continued hatred after 10 years, but obviously I did. I was an idiot as a teenager and I am sorry I hurt you.”

Kíli blushed, glad that it was too dark for Fíli to see that. Hopefully.

“I was an idiot, not you.” He tried to drill a hole in the asphalt with the tip of his shoe. “I’m just still embarrassed by how much of an idiot I was, is all.”

“You weren’t. You were very brave and amazing and I was very upset when you stopped talking to me. I knew why, but it hurt a lot to lose you.”

“Am I supposed to apologize here?”

“No, no you’re not.”

Fíli dragged his hand through his hair. “As I said, I wanted to apologize for brushing you off like that back then.”

“Apology accepted.” Kíli shrugged. “We were both stupid. I’m sorry for being so immature tonight.”

“It’s all right.”

They looked at each other. Then Fíli buried his hands deep in his pockets.

“So? May I see you again? I’d really like to catch up with you, you know? We could have dinner? Or drinks?”

Before Kili could stop himself he smiled.

“Dinner sounds good. Grab food from the supermarket and eat on our old bench? Like back in school?”

“I like that plan. Here.”

Fíli took a pen out of his pocket and a a piece of paper. He obviously was still as amazingly organised as always. Handing the piece of paper over, he almost looked shy.

Just give me a call or text me?”

“Great.”

They stood there looking at each other. Kíli was the first to move.

“I really need to get going. My car is in that direction.” He gestured vaguely up the street.

“Good. I need to head the other way.” Fíli hunched his shoulders. “I’m going to catch the night bus.”

Kíli realised that Fíli must have missed the last bus just to talk to him.

“Fíli, the night bus will only come in one hour.”

“It’ll take me 10 minutes to get to the stop.” Fíli shrugged. “If it gets to cold, I’ll just walk a few stops. Or I’ll find a taxi. No big deal.”

Kíli bit his lips.

“Or I could give you a ride? Where do you live?”

Fíli ducked his head.

“Same place. Moved back in with Uncle Thorin a couple of months back.”

“How is he?”

“He’s not getting any more cheerful with old age, but he’s in better shape than many young men.”

“Good to hear that. Does he still do his crazy workout every day?”

“Of course he does. What about your mum and dad?”

“They’re good, mostly. Mum started a catering company, so dad complains he hardly sees her, but on the other hand, he gets to sample all the food, so I think they’re good.”

“Nobody should complain when they get to eat your mum’s cooking. Your dad’s just spoilt.”

“I guess so. You were always mum’s biggest fan.”

It was remarkable with what ease he remembered the exact way to Fíli’s house. He hadn’t been in the neighbourhood for 10 years.

Just before Fíli opened the car door, he hesitated and looked back at Kíli.

“I had a mad crush on you too. I was just a coward.”

He tried to get out quickly then, but Kíli grabbed his arm.

“You what? You can’t just … you can’t just say that and then dash off!”

Fíli sighed. “I had a crush on you. From the moment you walked into the classroom and looked around with your big eyes.”

“Then … why …”

“I was scared. Look, do I need to explain myself right now?”

Kíli shrugged, still holding on to Fíli’s arm.

“Well, I’ve got nothing else to do.”

“Fine. But come in maybe? It’s too cold to do this in the car.”

Taking that as a partial victory, Kíli let Fíli get out before he parked the car properly.

He was starting to regret pushing Fíli, but he needed to know. If he ever wanted to get any sleep until he saw Fíli again.

Fíli told him to be quiet when he opened the front door, then he motioned Kíli to the sitting room.

“Thorin’s asleep,” he explained, once he closed the door. “We shouldn’t talk too loudly. He’s …. he’s been unwell. …. Anyway, do you want a coffee? Tea? Biscuits? A beer?”

Kíli suppressed his laugh.

“Ta. I’m good, I’m still stuffed from the reunion.

“Fair point. I’ll just go and get myself some water, all right? I need something in my hand to fiddle with.”

Kíli took the opportunity to look around when Fíli disappeared towards the kitchen. The room looked much like he vaguely remembered it; the couch was new, and there was a man with Thorin on a picture, that he didn’t recognize.

But other than that, it was like being back in high school.

He settled on the couch. They had been here many times when Thorin was away at work, watching TV shows Kíli wasn’t allowed to watch at home or play on the playstation Fíli had wheedled out of Thorin for his excellent grades. Of course they had also studied a lot here, to keep up Fíli’s grades. Those had been surprisingly good times.

“So …” Fíli began without preamble, once he returned and sat on the chair opposite Kíli. “I had a mad crush on you, as I said. But when you confessed you were in love with me … I panicked. I had always told myself that it wasn’t a real crush, you know. Like …. I was honestly convinced I’m straight and all the feelings I had for you were not real. I’d never … I’d never entertained the possibility of being with you. And then there you were, with your big eyes, and your smile, and you were nervous, and hopeful and I … I couldn’t deal with it. I just. I couldn’t.”

“You had a crush on me but you thought you were straight? How …”

Fíli shrugged, looking at his glass of water. Kíli began to see the wisdom of having a distraction ready.

“I had heard that it was normal, you know. That a lot of people are confused? Just …”

“If …” Kíli warned him, “you are going to say anything which has anything to do with the word ‘bro’ I’m going to scream loud enough to wake the neighbours.”

Fíli laughed. “Yeah, well, back then I might have, actually, but I was stupid.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Kíli had pushed Fíli for this, but he had no idea how to proceed. Eventually, he just asked:

“When did you figure out that you were stupid?”

“When Uncle Thorin got a boyfriend, actually.”

“He … WHAT?” Kíli managed to stage whisper instead of yell the last bit.

“He came out to me five years ago. I don’t know who was more embarrassed, him or me. He was …. he was actually scared I’d reject him. The man who had raised me since I was four years old, he had taken all the casual, careless homophobic things I’ve said over the years to heart, and he thought I might lose my respect for him. That I might stop loving him.”

Fíli rubbed his face. “The fear on his face, that was the worst. He doubted my love for him. All my life, I’d been afraid to disappoint him, I thought, he’d be disappointed if he knew about my crush on you … and then suddenly he was afraid to disappoint me.”

“What …. what made him come out anyway?”

“Bilbo.” Fíli sighed. “He met Bilbo, his ex-boyfriend,” a dark shadow flitted over Fíli’s face, “and for the first time in his life, he wanted a real relationship. He loved Bilbo enough to risk estranging me … said that he had long struggled with it, but at the end of the day, he didn’t want to live a lie anymore, he didn’t want to hurt Bilbo by living a lie.”

“So what did you say?”

Fíli rubbed his nose, looking down at the floor.

“I cried, actually. I was so shocked he thought I could ever not accept him. That I could ever lose my respect for him over this. And then he cried too and we were both extremely embarrassed, and I have no idea why I’m telling you, because we actually agreed to never talk about that.”

They both laughed, a bit awkwardly. The clock showed 1am now. This wasn’t how Kíli had envisioned this evening to go.

Fíli took a sip of water, before he continued.

“Anyway, once we had both calmed down, I confessed to him that I might be bisexual, but too afraid to act on it. That was a good conversation actually. I guess I’ve never really been an adult before that. So, it actually took me six years to realise what a gormless twit I was when I told you I saw you as a sort of younger brother.”

Kíli inadvertently winced at that memory and Fili ducked his head.

“I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

Kíli grabbed his own knees in an effort to steady himself.

“That is not … look, I’m not going to lie, it hurt, and I never completely got over it, but …. you don’t need to feel sorry for rejecting someone, you know. You’ve got the right to say no, and you hadn’t been leading me on.”

“I don’t know if I did. In hindsight …”

“In hindsight, we were teenagers, barely more than kids. Chances are, I would have read something into our friendship regardless of your feelings for me.”

“Surprisingly mature for someone who ran away from me earlier.”

Kíli chuckled. “Yeah … I’m mature enough to know that I’m an idiot and that my feelings about this are irrational. But not mature enough not to let that humiliating memory dictate my actions.”

Fíli frowned. “I’m getting too tired for so many negatives.”

That made Kíli realise how tired he was. He stretched and yawned. “It is getting late. I’ve got to drive home still.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way …” Fíli had already lifted his hands in defence, “But you don’t seem to be in any state to drive.”

“I’ve got to.” Kíli frowned right back at Fíli. “I live in Greenwood.”

“As I said, don’t take it the wrong way …. but you could stay here? We’ve got a guest room. Seriously, I don’t want to put you under an obligation or anything, it’s just … did you know I’m a cop now?”

“No, I did not.”

“Well, I am. And my point is, I’ve been to too many accidents that were caused by overfatigued drivers, so please, it’d make me feel a lot better to know you’re here and resting and not out there driving.”

“I’m not that …” The earnestness in Fíli’s eyes halted Kíli’s protest. “You know what? That’s great.”

Fíli smiled and suddenly he looked like 17 again.

Kíli quickly shoved that memory back where it belonged, the back of his mind.

They tiptoed to the guest room, where Fíli quickly made up the bed. There was a heavy layer of awkwardness between them, but somewhere underneath that, Kíli could feel their old bond. They were nearly 12 years older then when they stopped talking, they had filled out, there were some fine laughter lines around Fíli’s eyes, but the way Fíli moved, the way the house smelled, the way Fíli smiled when he bid him a good night, all this made the years disappear.

***

When Kíli got up the next morning, Fíli and Thorin were already downstairs. Fíli had obviously filled Thorin in, he greeted Kíli with his old cordiality. Still, Kíli was a bit shaken to see Thorin so aged. The man had always been a grumpy mountain of vitality, who could never understand how high school students could be exhausted after only 2 hours studying maths. This man looked small on the chair, huddled over a cup of coffee.

Kíli had already sent a text to Tauriel to explain that he stayed the night and to call if she wanted him to pick her up. It was freezing outside now; while they both usually preferred to take the train, it was nice to have a car when it was this cold out. She texted back not to worry, it would be evening until she’d return home, but Fíli just invited Kíli to stay until then too.

They decided to take a walk around the old neighbourhood; Fíli found some gloves for Kíli and they were off, leaving Thorin to his books. They walked to the place where they used to play football, to the river where they used to go swimming and got a kebap at the same place they always did. Only they didn’t sit down on the bench of the tram stop now, it was just too cold. Everything was painted in grey and brown hues, adding to the feeling of nostalgia.

They went back to fix some lunch, Fíli mentioned that he had to make sure Thorin ate properly. Fíli cooked a large pot of Thai Curry, apparently his speciality now, and they watched films for the rest of the afternoon, until Tauriel called again. By that point, they had already agreed to go to the cinema together one week later, to meet for dinner in Kíli’s new favourite restaurant, and to take Thorin to the mountains once the weather was nicer.

***

Over the next few weeks Kíli saw Fíli frequently. It was as if there had never been a break in their friendship. They laughed together at a silly film, they enjoyed dinner together, had drinks, enjoyed a brisk walk in the mountains with Thorin and within no time, they were best friends again.

Kíli also learned that Thorin had had a mental breakdown and had kicked Bilbo out of the house, suspecting him of all kinds of outrageous things and refusing to talk to Fíli. It had taken the joint effort of Thorin’s best friend Dwalin and Fíli to make Thorin agree to seek treatment.

That was why Fíli had moved back in with his uncle. Thorin had become an old man in his time in the clinic and he couldn’t get over the way he had treated Bilbo. Fíli was in loose contact with Bilbo, who occasionally asked how Thorin was doing. Thorin himself was too embarrassed to talk to his ex boyfriend.

So Kíli joined Fíli’s efforts to cheer Thorin up by taking him out and cooking for him when Fíli was busy with training in another part of the country.

***

“You’re in love with him,” Tauriel told him four month later. Spring had just started to show its beautiful side, and they were in a garden centre buying greenery and flowers for their balcony.

Before Tauriel’s sudden observation they had been discussing if they should get a mojito mint plant, or a chocolate mint plant, or both and get rid of the borage they never used. Consequently, he stared at her, the mojito mint still in his hand.

“I’m what?”

“In love with Fíli.”

“Look, I’m sorry if you feel I put you in second place or something, but …”

“Fiddlesticks.” Tauriel took the plant off his hands and into their basket. “You’re a great friend and here we are, shopping together and preparing to have mojitos together in summer. But you’re in love with Fíli, and I think you should do something about it. Now, do you want to get Thai basil or just the regular?”

“Thai holy basil,” Kíli answered automatically, thinking of the great Moo Pad Gaprao Fíli cooked.

Maybe he was actually in love with Fíli again. But he felt that this time, it should be Fíli who made a move. Despite Fíli’s confession, Kíli didn’t want to experience a rejection by Fíli for the second time.

***

A week after that, Fíli came over to spent Saturday evening with Kíli; Tauriel had gone away for the weekend to see her family.

They had just planned to make pizza and watch some films. But Kíli could tell something was different right from the start. While they were preparing the pizza, Fíli seemed distracted. When Fíli put olives on his side of the pizza, despite hating them with a passion, Kíli put his hand around Fíli’s wrist to stop him from ruining his pizza any further.

“Fíli, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“Right. You just suddenly decided to join the rest of us and acknowledge the tastiness of olives?”

Fíli looked at his pizza, scrunched up his nose in disgust and began picking the olives off.

“You know when I told you that I had this mad crush on you in school, but was too afraid to admit it?”

“Yes?” Kíli frowned, letting go of Fíli. “Do we need to bring that up again?”

“Well, yes.” Fíli looked up at Kíli from the corners of his eyes. “Because just so we’re clear this time, I fell for you again. Right from the moment I saw you again at the reunion and it’s only getting worse.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Fíli looked down at the pizza again, replacing the olives with slices of pepper.

It struck Kíli how their roles were reversed now. Fíli had admitted his crush and Kíli was standing there, frozen to the spot, unable to confess that the feeling was entirely mutual.

Then he shook himself. This was stupid.

“It took a bit longer for me this time,” he admitted softly, tugging Fíli away from the counter, before he placed his hands carefully on Fíli’s shoulder. “Until the morning after the reunion, maybe.”

He smiled down at Fíli, who was vainly struggling against the huge grin on his face.

The kiss was everything Kíli had dreamt up back in high school.

He was glad that avoiding Fíli had not worked. Now he had a chance to fulfil one of his childhood dreams and he had a feeling that it would be just as amazing as he had pictured.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments?


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